Adjusting-buckle



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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented M 1, rare.

Application filed May 3, 1915. Serial No. 25,589.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. ORE- WILER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjusting- Buckles, of which the followingis a specification.

The present invention relates-t0 a buckle used in connection with the ordinary garment supporter, for the purpose of regulating the length of the same.

The objects of the present invention are, to provide a buckle which'is cheap and simple of construction, and which, when attached to the webbing, will lie in a fiat condition, that is, there will be no undue lump or bulge at the point where the buckle is applied to the webbing; to provide a snap connection between the back and lever portion of the buckle, which snap connection will be the primary means for retaining the buckle in closed position; and in arranging the prong portion of the lever part of the buckle, whereby the points of said portion will be disposed in an angular downward direction, so that they will engage with the body of the webbing when the supporteris subjected to strain.

The invention further consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and'claimed.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a face View of a portion of a garment supporter with the adjusting buckle of the present invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale, of the adjusting buckle of the present invention, applied to a webbing and showing the relation of the webbing to the prong portion of the buckle prior to the application of strain upon the webbing; Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 2, showing the position ofthe parts after the applicationof strain to the webbing; and Fig. 4 is an elevation of the buckle, showing it thrown into full open position; v

In the art towhich the present invention relates, namely, a buckle which controls the length of a garment supporter, there are several characteristics Which must be embodied in a buckle to makeit commercially practical for the purpose intended. First, it must be cheap and simple of manufacture, as well as simple of operation when applied; second, it must be so formed as to lie in a flat condition when applied to the webbing, wheretions.

the back of the buckle.

by it does not create an undue lump or bulge at the point of application; third, it must permit of absolutely free running of the webbing through the buckle when the buckle is open; and, fourth, it must be of the so called rustless nature, that is, all of the metal portion at the back of the buckle must be covered in some manner by a fabric. All of the above characteristics are embodied in the buckle of the present invention, as will be clearly understood from the following descrlption. I

Referring now to the drawing, the buckle is shown as applied to the elastic webbing 5 of an ordinary garment supporter. This webbing, as is usual, comprises a front reach 6 and a rear reach 7, at the juncture of which is the usual loop 8, which retains some suitable form of garment fastener 9.

The buckle consists of two parts, a back 10, and a lever or clamping member 11. The back, as shown, is of sheet metal formation, and comprises an upper bar12, an intermediate bar 13, a lower bar 14, side bars or rails 15. The intermediate bar 13, as will be seen from Figs. 2 and'3, is of U formation in cross section, whereby a tongue 16 is formed. The end 17 of the reach 7 is inserted into the slot of the U-shaped bar 13; and then by a swaging operation, the tongue is clamped against the fabric, and thus one end of the fabric is fixedly joined to the buckle.

The lever member 11-is provided with cars 18, which are bent'around the upper bar 12 of the back 10, so as to form a hingeconnection between the lever and back por- The lever further comprises a serrated clamping portion 19 at its upper part, and at its lower part, in the construction shown, is formed with outer tongues or pro- 'jections 20, forming finger pieces used in opening the buckle, and is further provided with a central inwardly extendinglip 21, which is designed and adapted to snap beneath the lower barl l of the -back10, and

form a spring catch connecti back and lever portions; I

The fabric, as stated, has one end secured to the buckle by thetongue 16; and to thread the same through the buckle the fabric is looped over the top of this tongue, and then extends along the rear of the lower half of The fabric is then looped back about itself, as at 8, and the front reach is passed behind the bar 14,

on between the through a slot 22 between the bars 14: and

13, thence in frontmofthebar 13, thence tionof'the back of the buckle.

From the foregoing, it will beseen that the so-called rustless back is provided,- that is to say, the fabric passing along the rear of the buckle. Initially, the clamping member is thrown intothe position shown inFig. 2, whereby the lip 21is sprung or snapped beneath the bar 14; the prongs 19 of the lever 11 will perform no active function in retaining the fabric in place when the parts are in this position. There is a crimp placed in the fabric, but this is due to the'method of threading, and not to any .action of the prong or acting edge of the clamping member. It will be seen from Fig. 2, however, that the teeth of the prong surface 19 are extending in oblique clown- Ward position. Then, when strain is exerted upon the fabric, the effect of such strain Wlll be to cause the teeth of the prong portion to bite into the fabric and resist any tendency of the same to slide through the buckle. The greater the strain, of course, the greater the penetration of the teeth, and the strain tends to throw the lever portion of the buckle toward the back portion and thus, by reason of the strain, the two parts of the buckle are maintained in a closer engagement with one another. When it is desired to allow the fabric to slide through the buckle for adjusting purposes, the lever member is released from its spring engagement with the back, by pressure applied to either or both of the finger pieces 20, and' thrown outward, this movement bringing the serrated surface 19 out of engagement with the fabric and permittinga free sliding of the fabric through the buckle.

I claim: 7 c

1. In a buckle, the combination of a back portion provided with an upper slot, a webbing secured at one end to said back and passing through said slot from the front to Copies'of this patent may be obtained for webbing which it engages, and a spring catch connection between the back and lever to provide means for holding the same in closed position, substantially as described.

' "2. A buckle, comprising a back portion and a lever portion hinged together, said back being provided with upper and lower slots, a webbing-retaining member on the rear of the backbetween said slots, the webbing passing down and across the back of the retaining member, thence back upon itself to form a loop, thence through the lower slot to the front of the back, thence through the upper slot to the rear of the back, whereby a crimp is placed in the webbing and a fabric covering for the back produced, said lever embodying a webbing-engaging member, said engaging member when the buckle 1S closed lylng 1n diagonal disposition to the webbing at a point where the webbing passes through the upper slot, and said engaging member when the buckle is closed reaching approximately to the pos1t10n initially assumed by that part of the webbing which it engages, and a spring catch connection between the back and lever to provide means for holding the same in.

closed position, substantially as described.

3. A buckle, comprising a back portion and a lever portion hinged together, said back being provided with upper and lower slots, a webbing-retaining member on the rear of the back between said slots, the webbing passing down and across the back of the retaining member, thence back upon itself to form a loop, thence through the lower slot to the front of the back, thence through the upper slot to the rear of the back ,'whereby a crimp is placed in the webbing and a fabric covering for the back produced, said lever embodying a webbingengaging member, said engaging member when the buckle is closed lying in diagonal disposition to the webbing at a point where the webbing passes through the upper slot, and said engaging member when the buckle is closed reaching approximately to the position initially assumed by that part of the webbing which it engages, a spring catch connection between the back and lever to provide means for holding the same in closed position, and a finger piece on the lever adjacent the spring catch connection, substantially as described.

BENJAMIN F. OREWILER.

lVitnesses:

WM. P. BoND, FRANCES M. FRosT.

five cents each, by addressing the Commisnioner of Patentu, Washington, D. C. 

